


Life and No Death

by blazedveggies556



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Original work - Freeform, Short Story, tryingsomethingdifferent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 17:44:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16202480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blazedveggies556/pseuds/blazedveggies556
Summary: ****"With the baffling events that have occurred recently, we'll take an inside look into the thoughts of one the denizens affected by this strange phenomenon"****





	Life and No Death

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short story that I recently submitted to a contest on WordHamster.com. I'm not affiliated with it, but I definitely recommend that you check it out if you want to read about tips on how to write better and just how to continue writing without getting discouraged! We all get writer's block, and making myself write for a contest has definitely encouraged me to keep on going and to keep improving. :D
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy this story!

  
Death has dipped its hand in my life more times than any one person should experience. My father was a literature professor, well known for the lectures he gave on the intangible that surpassed the understanding of many, yet people attended simply to hear the infectious passion he had in his voice each time he spoke. “Socrates rebirthed” they would say of him. Doesn’t roll well off the tongue, but he held true to this title nonetheless, even as that brain tumor sapped the last of his energy. He held his index finger into the air with one hand, and with the other took Death’s cup in stride, bellowing out his greatest oration without cessation until he succumbed to that poisoned wine with a sigh. Or so I was told. His words came through four-year-old ears as merely gibberish.  


  
Mother’s dying words were not quite so hard to understand. In fact, if memory serves me right, she did not speak at all. The car accident we were in with a semi-truck killed her almost instantly. I saw the lights flicker out of her eyes before she passed.  


  
…  


  
That was fairly morbid wasn’t it? Apologies.  


  
…Am I bitter? Oh, no, no. On the contrary, these experiences have taught me to respect Death. Now, do not misunderstand. I am not infatuated with Death. I do not ruminate upon the idea of dying. That would not be respect. That would be obsession. There is a clear difference between the two. Though trying to explain to each foster family that respect was the reason I did not cry at each of my parents’ funeral was difficult, often isolating me from them.  


  
…I suppose a lack of understanding of Death was a small part of why I did not cry about my parents’ passing, but I was not an infant who had just mastered the concept of object permanence–– I knew my parents were gone and they were not going to come back.  


  
And that respect I had is what led me to my current position. Well, that and also preference. I learned from my childhood that I preferred seclusion from people, that I enjoyed the peace and quiet. Most people hunger for the presence of others when they have encountered Death, but I did not have this desire. I tired of others offering their sympathy (before they shunned me, of course). It all became very repetitive, and words themselves became repetitive to me as the world seemed to be filled with incessant chatter. Is there a universal rule where in order to show that one is living, all creatures must fulfill a noise quota or the universe shall mistake them for a corpse and correct the error? I don’t believe so…  


  
*laughs* And here I am using needlessly long words to express myself. Well, I suppose it is inherent in the human condition to jabber on, especially during times like this.  


  
…  


  
But I wanted to escape from that and just go somewhere quiet, where I could simply be. Botany became that outlet. Being a botanist is not a job I hold, nor is it a hobby. To me, it is so much more. When I place myself in the midst of nature and simply observe what is around me, I am the sole witness to this… unfolding of an incredible masterpiece. That greenery that would create a veil across the blue sky with small spotlights on the flowers that speckled the ground, the mountains as their backdrop.  


  
And is Life the only one responsible for this beauty? No, so is Death. For how can each day begin anew without the death of the day before? Death is what gives even the smallest of things meaning, for what is here today may not be here tomorrow. That is what makes everything and everyone unique and what makes us grateful for them. Death is essential to life to uphold this human refrain.  


  
…  


  
But he didn’t see it that way.  


  
He saw Death as a poison to extract, as a disease to eradicate so life would never end.  


  
And he claimed he had the solution.  


  
You saw what he did. It was on all the news stations. Where he took that crooked tree branch he called “The Wand” and stabbed it into the ground. I was laughing at the absurdity of such a scene. Did this one man believe he could tip the balance in favor of Life, that he could warp the fabric of the universe to do his bidding? It was all very comical.  


  
Until it was no longer funny. The mountain ranges have split open and given way to vines that have spread cascading tendrils down the rocky slopes. The grass has become so thick and unruly that whole houses have come crumbling down. The sun is no longer visible in many areas of the world, so the lack of energy is harder to come by, both for our man-made objects and for our own bodies. Plant cycles have frozen. There is no rest now, no crops to yield. Only growth.  


  
…  


  
I would have stated the irony here, but I think it’s obvious to anyone still alive. He tipped the balance, and now Death is retaliating. He didn’t respect Death. He obsessed over it, and now we must all pay for that mistake.  


  
…  


  
If we’re done here, I must be off. The winds are blowing in the pollen, so this area is no longer safe. I suggest you leave as well.  


  
There isn’t much time left.  


**Author's Note:**

> So what'd ya think? You like it? Let me know your thoughts and critique down in the comment section below. All feedback is welcome!
> 
> My original works may not come out as often as the fanfiction I write, but I do want to try another writing contest. It's super fun! We'll see what comes out next. 
> 
> Until next time!


End file.
